Yearly Archives: 2011

Duty Now for the Future

11/10/2011 – 6:41 pm

My neighbors seemed to hit on a 21st century harvest ritual last Sunday.  It was the first dusk of standard time and was getting dark around 4:40.  It had been a beautiful day and we’d all been closing our gardens for the season, when I noticed fires burning in a few backyards.  It seemed a […]

By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary, Economy, Global Warming | Tagged , | Comments (0)

One Year Out

11/3/2011 – 3:33 pm

The presidential election is one year away.  What are we talking about?  Is Herman Cain a heinie-pincher?  Was Rick Perry drunk at the podium in New Hampshire?  Can Barack Obama win re-election?  For the answer to number three, see questions one and two. Just like global warming, we’re getting used to this crap and we […]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary, Electoral Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Zero to Seven Billion

10/27/2011 – 4:11 pm

When I heard the seven billionth person is due to be born Monday, I thought I must have made a mistake a few years back.  “Didn’t I just write a commentary on the six billionth person?  Was my math wrong?” My math was not wrong.  I wrote that commentary the first week of October 1999.  […]

By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary, Economy, Energy | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

How to Read the Washington Post

10/20/2011 – 1:17 pm

Sunday, the Washington Post published “Obama allies’ interests collide over Keystone pipeline,” which on its face is a news story.  It’s also a guide to life in our nation’s capital. The gist of the story is that when it comes to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the White House is pinched.  On one side are […]

By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary, Oil | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Gotta Be Cool on Wall Street *

10/13/2011 – 2:30 pm

I have no desire to occupy Wall Street.  Not that I think it’s a bad idea.  I think it’s a great idea, I just have no desire to participate.  Maybe that makes me part of the problem. On the other hand, heading down to Wall Street would take me away from my day job and […]

By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Not to Look Away

10/6/2011 – 2:43 pm

When I was in grade school, we learned the Nazis came to power in a time of economic dislocation, the worldwide Great Depression.  We learned Germany was a once-great nation in decline after the military defeat of World War I and the Nazis appealed simultaneously to the fears and the nationalism of the German people.  […]

By floegel | Posted in Civil Liberty, Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

What the Left Hand is Doing

9/29/2011 – 2:55 pm

Cognitive dissonance is name given to the discomfort caused by trying to simultaneously hold two conflicting ideas.  Policy dissonance might be the name applied when two conflicting ideas are the basis for government action. An example: Texas is still in the worst single-year drought in its history and the hottest summer in Texas history just […]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary, Electoral Politics, Energy, Global Warming | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)